


Illusions and Grandeur

by supergayheros



Category: Druck | SKAM (Germany)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Canon Trans Character, Getting Together, M/M, Magic, Trans Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23651506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supergayheros/pseuds/supergayheros
Summary: "So you got a bunny ready to hop outta a top hat?" Matteo jokes maybe a minute too late. But David just laughs like it's not awkward, and that makes Matteo feel all light and airy inside."No," David chuckles. "No rabbit.""Well what kind of magician even are you?" Matteo asks in a faux-affronted voice. He just wants to hear that laugh again."Oh and what are you, a magic expert?" David shoots back, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side."Something like that yeah." Matteo answers, trying so hard not to burst into hysterical laughter. It's the most ridiculous situation he could have possibly found himself in. Only Matteo, truly.or;Matteo has magic powers, David does magic tricks, and their instant chemistry just might be the most magical thing about them.
Relationships: Matteo Florenzi/David (Druck), Matteo Florenzi/David Schreibner
Comments: 30
Kudos: 123





	Illusions and Grandeur

An old Mumford and Sons song plays lowly from Matteo's phone speaker, filling the kitchen with sound. He hums along tunelessly, swaying back and forth. Another small pinch of chopped cinnamon leaf goes into the pot on the stove. And one more splash of patchouli oil for good measure. The water starts to boil. 

“That kid’s coming to pick up the luck potion in like thirty minutes, you almost done?” Hans asks, poking his head into the kitchen. 

“It’s got ten more minutes to steep. Chill.” Matteo intoes back, standing over the pot of water and green herbs, wooden spoon in hand. He stirs the mixture, once, twice, three times. Bending down closer, he blows out air, wisps of bright magic coming from his mouth. It settles onto the surface of the potion like filament of gold. Matteo gives it a few more stirs and turns down the heat.

“You know, it would be a lot easier if you didn’t procrastinate every single time.” Hans chides, coming over to get a closer look at the brew. 

“What are you my dad?” Matteo shoots back, annoyed. He waves the wet spoon in Hans’ face, shooing him away. Hans grumbles and dodges out of the way of the attack. He's always been nosey about the process, ever since the very beginning when he first found out Matteo’s secret. But Matteo hates being watched, it gives him anxiety. Hans should be used to the brush off by now. That fact doesn't stop the indignant look from crossing his face.

“I might as well be!” Hans squawks. With a huff he retreats from the kitchen again, knowing when he's pushed far enough. Something Matteo is grateful for. “Children these days, honestly.” 

Matteo just rolls his eyes and clicks off the stovetop. He slouches, and watches as the magic concoction slowly changes color. The gold spreads, touching every green leaf. A beautiful disease irreversibly changing everything it comes into contact with. For better or for worse. His mouth feels dry and cottony, a side effect of luck magic that even a full gallon of water wouldn't be able to cure. 

Signing through his nose, Matteo drifts off to his phone, turning the music off. He scrolls through the ok.cool group chat for a few minutes. The boys want to hang out this weekend when Jonas and Abdi aren't busy with classes and Carlos is off work. It's not like Matteo has anything that could interfere with their plans, what with his self employment and lack of further social life. He sends back a random cat gif and closes the chat. 

Matteo grabs a clean mason jar and begins carefully ladling in the Luck potion. He scribbles out the user directions on a sticky note in cramped messy scrawl. _ ‘Take one full hour before intended use, drink the entire contents for full effect, don’t mix with alcohol’ _ . Slightly vague but basic enough that anyone with two brain cells to rub together could follow without issue. The lid is screwed on tight and the note pasted to the side. Matteo puts the finished spell on the fridge door next to the whipped cream for Hans to find when the buyer shows up. 

Matteo heads into the living room where Hans and Linn are now camped out watching something on Netflix. He grabs his jacket from the back of the couch and pulls it on while making his way for the door.

"Now where are you going young man?" Hans asks, watching Matteo with narrowed eyes. Clearly taking this act of fatherhood to heart. 

"Out," Is all Matteo replies with, hand already on the doorknob.

"But the potion!" Hans shouts. Linn slowly chews a potato chip and watches them with mild interest. 

"It's in the fridge cooling down. Just put the money in my room after he picks it up." Matteo calls back over his shoulder as he slips out of the flat. He can hear Hans yell about ungrateful children through the door. Matteo snorts and rolls his eyes. He knows Hans doesn't even mind too much, just likes to be dramatic. And he always gets a small cut for dealing with the customers anyway, so Matteo doesn't feel too guilty.

The air outside is warm and bright, spring falling over Berlin like a blanket. Matteo closes his eyes and lifts his head to the sun, pink light coming through his eyelids. He decides he has just enough energy to walk instead of taking the bus. Opening his eyes again, Matteo sets off. He makes it to his destination soon enough. Reiner's apartment. Matteo knocks twice in quick succession. He waits a little less than patiently, standing still and listening for any sign of life inside. 

"Passward?" Comes Reiner's half-ominous, half-comforting voice moments later. The door stays stubbornly locked. 

"Oh for fuck sake it's me." Matteo huffs. The door creaks open an inch, squinted eyes coming into view. 

"That is  _ not _ the password," Reiner says sullenly. They look at each other for a long silent beat before the older man caves, rolling his eyes and beckoning Matteo in.

Matteo enters silently, unfazed by the theatrics. Some things never change. 

At one point in time Reiner was just Matteo's drug dealer with a side of vague therapizing. For the longest time both of them thought they were the only one who was magically gifted. Little did they know they had more in common then they initially thought. The realization finally hit them like a ton of bricks one night over some shared weed and a not so theoretical conversation about the possible existence of a real life Hogwarts.

Now Reiner sells Matteo more than just weed. Though that transaction still happens from time to time as well. Despite Matteo's actual therapist's better judgment. But what she doesn't know won't kill her, considering the other secret Matteo is keeping.

"I was just about to have lunch, would you like to join me? It's just leftovers but I could heat you up some." Riener asks as he ambles past Matteo into the living room. Matteo just shakes his head and eyes the bowl of what seems to be stew sitting on the coffee table. He's not brave enough to try the other man's cooking after last time. Matteo hadn't known clam chowder could be that level of spicy until that fateful day. Hadn't know it could be spicy at all in fact. Matteo shudders slightly at the memory. 

"Suit yourself. So what can I do for you then?" Reiner asks.

Matteo ends up leaving with two jars full of wild mushrooms (not the kind you'd imagine a drug dealer to sell), some herbs that he's never been able to find in any supermarket (again, not those kinds of herbs), and a few various crystals just in case. He doesn’t know where the man comes across all this stuff. Matteo had asked him once and only got a cryptic answer about ‘knowing the right islands’ in return. He doesn’t question much about Riener anymore, just accepts the simple fact that he won't ever truly understand him and moves on with life.

Riener pulls out several plastic bags from under his sink and makes Matteo triple bag his haul and tie it up tight. Matteo humors him with little protest, knowing Riener is even more paranoid of a modern day witch hunt than being busted for selling weed. Which is saying something considering his base-level paranoia is already at a ten.

After paying, Matteo leaves him to his meal and heads back out into the street. Signing through his nose, he starts for the nearest bus stop, having decided he has had enough exercise for one day. The bag swings lazily at his side as Matteo taps away on his phone. Hans texts to let him know the transaction went fine and the money is on Matteo's bedside table, minus his cut. He looks up from the screen to see that there are three others waiting at the bus stop up ahead. He slows slightly, watching. 

A mother stands with her young daughter, the two holding hands. The third is a man who looks to be around Matteo's age. From where he is a few feet away, he can see the man shuffle a deck of playing cards. It looks practiced and precise, nimble fingers manipulating the cards with a flourish. The little girl watches on with wide eyes, mother smiling down at her. After a few more flashy card folding moves the boy bends down and produces a card from behind the girl's ear as if from thin air. She squeals excitedly and hops up and down, free hand fluttering by her side in excitement. 

A street magician? Matteo lets out a surprised laugh. The boy's brown eyes are drawn to the sound, and Matteo sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth. 

A beautiful street magician. 

Matteo stands, half stunned, as the bus rolls to a stop in front of the group. In a flurry of movement the mother presses a few coins into the magician's slack hand and pulls her child on board. When neither of the boys move to get onto the bus as well, it closes its doors and pulls away from the stop. Matteo notices the bus's departure a moment too late, brain finally catching up with itself. He watches it go with a dejected look on his face. Only Matteo could be so thoroughly distracted by a handsome boy to let this happen. He's immediately filled with dull annoyance for dooming himself to walking back home, and sharp embarrassed for literally everything else. His friends would never let him live this down if they knew.

Awkwardly Matteo shuffles, silently debating whether walking away or staying will make him look like more of a weirdo. His eyes dart back to the boy.

Christ, is he handsome though. Dark hair, buzzed short on the sides and curly on top. Brown skin and pinked cheeks under a dusting of facial hair. Thick eyebrows and crazy long eyelashes. Sharp jawline and adorable nose. Hypnotizingly deep brown eyes. And the way his hands handled the cards, skillful for sure. Matteo swallows around a golf ball sized lump lodged in his throat and watches as the boy stuffs the change into his hoodie pocket unthinkingly but takes great care in putting the cards away, back in their small box. Matteo coughs and the boy looks up again.

"Na?" Matteo mutters, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. The stranger just quirks an eyebrow and angles his head in a vague nod.

"So you're a street magician? What's that like then?" Matteo continues, because if he's already missed the bus, then why not? Plus he's genuinely curious. He's seen buskers before, but never like this.

"No," Mr. Beautiful brown eyes snorts. Matteo just raises an eyebrow back, and gestures to the cards in the boys hands. He finally gets them all back into the box safe and sound, and slips it into his pocket along with the loose change. 

"I mean, Yeah, ok, I'm a magician. But not a street one. I do kids parties mostly. Headed to one now actually." He answers, now empty hand running through his hair. 

"Huh," a beat. "I'm Matteo."

Because in for a penny, in for a pound. Matteo gets a gummy smile in return. A breathtaking smile, no matter how cheesy that sounds. It might make him feel a little lightheaded to look at for too long, but it also might be worth it.

"David,"

"But if you're not a busker, and you're headed to a job, then why didn't you get on the bus?" Matteo asks, because he's an idiot. He really should just walk away. Pretty boys make him too stupid for his own health and wellbeing. David gives Matteo a look like,  _ 'well neither did you' _ , and ok, fair. But again, idiot. He can feel his cheeks burn with embarrassment. 

"Waiting for my lovely assistant. She's late." David answers despite the fact that Matteo is a stranger asking weirdly probing questions like he's never learned societal boundaries. Which is actually kind of true. Or well, he's learned them, but they never really seem to stick. 

Matteo nods, because he doesn't really know what to say to 'lovely assistant'. There's a moment of silence. David shifts his weight from foot to foot. Matteo ruffles his already messy hair.

"So you got a bunny ready to hop outta a top hat?" Matteo jokes maybe a minute too late. But David just laughs like it's not awkward, and that makes Matteo feel all light and airy inside.

"No," David chuckles. "No rabbit."

"Well what kind of magician even are you?" Matteo asks in a faux-affronted voice. He just wants to hear that laugh again.

"Oh and what are you, a magic expert?" David shoots back, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side. 

"Something like that yeah." Matteo answers, trying so hard not to burst into hysterical laughter. It's the most ridiculous situation he could have possibly found himself in. Only Matteo, truly. 

The sound of feet slapping pavement makes both boys look up. A woman comes barreling down the sidewalk, all curly brown hair and sharp features. Matteo watches, a little caught off guard, as she comes to a hard stop in front of David. The woman bends slightly at the waist, hands on her hips and face red from exertion.

"My lovely assistant everybody," David says dryly. The woman gets her breathing under control, straightens up, and pulls her hair back out of her face. Matteo blinks.

"You missed the bus. I told you this always happens when you sleep over Mel's place." David continues. 

"Shit." The woman answers, looking shamefaced. 

Matteo contemplates making his exit now. He takes one step back, noticing now how close he had shifted towards David during their conversation. But David's lovely assistant turns to look at Matteo and he freezes in place.

"Sorry," She says, and the word is seemingly directed towards Matteo. He looks behind himself to make sure, and yes, there's no one else there. The woman is apologizing for what? Swearing in his presence? Matteo stays silent, just inclines his head slightly, more confused than anything. 

"Matteo, Laura. Laura, Matteo." David's voice is exasperatedly fond. They're clearly close. Maybe even dating. And Matteo has just spent the last few minutes attempting to flirt in the most inept way possible. He wishes the bus would come back just to run him over and take him out of his embarrassment. His cheeks burn hotter.

"Nice to meet you," Laura says, sounding genuine. She seems like the kind of person who's always genuine. "Oh hey, did he give you our card already?" She continues, already rummaging through her purse. 

"What? Laura - no, god. We don't need to give them out to every person we run into." David groans, hand coming up to scrub at his face. Matteo looks from the boy to the girl and back again, eyebrows raising. Laura produces a small rectangular card from her purse with a triumphant noise and hands it over to Matteo. 

Matteo takes the card without question, flipping it over to get a better look.  _ David and Laura Schreiber, Sibling magic act  _ \- is printed in blocky red letters, along with a phone number and email address. Sibling. Matteo lets out a sharp breath through his nose. So maybe he doesn't need to throw himself in front of a moving vehicle just yet.

"Of course we do, how else are we gonna book shows? Not that this is the best impression anyway. Seeing as we're about to be late to some poor boy's birthday party." Laura shoots back, fingers combing through her wild hair. Matteo turns the business card over in his hand a few times.

"Nah we won't be late," David reassures. "I actually lied about the start time because I knew this would happen."

Laura makes an offended noise and swats at David. Their familial closeness is so evident. It's a little much to witness as a stranger, like he's intruding in some way. Matteo pulls his old cracked wallet out to stuff the card in. He needs to extract himself. David's incredibly cute but trying anything in front of his sister would be disastrous, and he knows he's always too obvious. So slinking away before his interest becomes too evident is the only course of action.

"Oh um," Matteo mutters, feigning searching through the wallet. "Crap, er- forgot my bus ticket at home I guess."

Matteo gives an awkward chuckle. He doesn't even own a bus ticket. He really should fix that. The pair of siblings turn to look at him again. David's eyes crinkle slightly with a soft smile. Dangerous, so dangerous.

"Oh that stinks," Laura says, looking sympathetic. Matteo almost feels bad for lying to her, even about something so small.

"Yeah uh, guess I'll be walking then." Matteo says, already stepping backwards. He looks at David as he goes, trying to commit his beauty to memory. Sure to never see him again. 

"Bye Matteo!" Laura calls. David just nods slightly, eyes tracking his retreat. Matteo makes a strange hand gesture, half wave half salute, and turns around. He makes his way back home, bag in hand and card burning a hole through his wallet.

* * *

Matteo visits his mom whenever he can. Between working and seeing his friends and going to counseling, and having to work around her own schedule, it usually averages out to once every two weeks. They'll often have lunch together in a quaint cafe and argue over who gets to handle the bill, or go on short walks around the park to catch up. On a few occasions Matteo has gone to watch his mother perform in her church choir. It's really the least he can do all things considered.

Today was lunch. Matteo had his regular grilled cheese sandwich with fries and his mother a salad with grilled chicken. His mother asked questions about his friends, and Matteo asked questions about church choir. When the topic of Matteo's father came up briefly Matteo expertly changed the topic by blurting out that he has been thinking about adopting a pet rat. His mother was far too invested in changing Matteo's mind about the rat-  _ why not a cat or a dog? A rat Matteo really? _ \- that she never steered the conversation back. Matteo counts the whole thing a success. 

It's a few days after the strange moment at the bus stop. Matteo has made a habit of pulling the business card out of his wallet when he's alone in his room, flipping the stiff paper over and over. Reading the words again and again till they mean nothing at all, numbers all but memorized. It's weird, he knows it's weird. To be this hung up on someone he's seen and talked to once. But knowing that doesn't make him any less enamored.

Now Matteo pulls out his wallet to pay for his and his mother's meal, and almost reaches for the card on instinct. His fingers stall for a moment, face tinting pink, before grabbing the right amount of cash and slapping it down on the wooden table. Thankfully his mother doesn’t comment, and the two gather their things before exiting the small restaurant.

"Oh wait," Matteo pauses just outside the door. He roots around in his entirely too large pants pockets for a moment before pulling out what he was looking for. Matteo pushes the crystal into his mother's palm. She smiles immediately at the contact. 

A small clear crystal imbued with a calming charm. The spell won't last long, a few days tops, but it's something Matteo likes to do for her when he can. When he can isn't actually as often as he'd like, the particular enchantment takes a lot out of Matteo. It feels a little like taking every ounce of his own calm energy and pushing it into the stone for his mom to use later, which is hard considering Matteo's own anxieties. But it makes his mom smile, and once when he was visiting his mother at her apartment he saw all the old crystals lined up in her windowsill, so he keeps doing it.

"Thank you sweetheart." She says, voice warm and tender. She gives Matteo a soft kiss on the cheek and slips the gem safely into her purse. 

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride home dear? It’s not out of the way at all.” Matteo’s mother asks, delicate fingers brushing the hair from his eyes lovingly. Being around her always makes Matteo feel young and small in a pleasant way. He soaks up all the soft maternal care that he can when they’re together. Matteo never realised how much he missed it when they were essentially estranged. Instantly he wants to take her up on the offer of a ride home. He opens his mouth to answer and then closes again.

The 'not being out of the way' bit of her offer is a lie. Matteo knows that his mother has a therapist appointment to get to because she mentioned it over lunch in passing. A therapist whose office is in the complete opposite direction of Matteo’s apartment. Matteo breathes out through his nose.

“No it’s ok ma, I don’t mind the bus.” Matteo lies back as convincingly as he can. Strangely, the fact that they’re telling each other tiny lies only to make each other happy makes Matteo smile softly to himself. At least they're not the big kind anymore, the kind about sexuality and magic and mental health. These little white lies are ones Matteo can live with.

“Well if you're sure,” She sighs. “ I love you. Be safe getting home, and tell Hans and Linn I say hello.”

Ms. Florenzi hadn't been happy when she first learned that Matteo's roommates knew about his strange talent. The list of people in on the secret growing too quickly, bad enough that it was growing at all. It seemed to scare her at the time. But she knows now how much the two have done for her son, how much they continue to do for him. Matteo is well versed in the relaying of pleasantries between them at this point. He’s always half tempted to just give his mother Hans' phone number so she can do it herself, but doesn't ever go through with it because the double mothering would surely reach new levels of insufferable.

“I'll tell them. Love you too mom.” Matteo says, receiving another kiss on the cheek and a small wave goodbye. He plugs in his headphones, presses shuffle, and makes his way to the bus stop.

Matteo is thinking about how he should really just get his driver's license when he looks up from the pavement. His steps falter for a second. David's at the bus stop again, sitting down on the bench and doing something on his phone. Matteo then thinks that actually, he should maybe never get his license, and silently thanks the universe for giving him this opportunity. Pocketing his headphones again Matteo walks over to the bench. He stands there a moment, peering down at David who stays fully engrossed in his phone. 

David's face is pinched, a cute little wrinkle in between his furrowed eyebrows. Full mouth down turned. His eyelashes still fan his cheekbones in an incredibly unfair way and his hair still looks thick and soft. David has a septum ring in now, a mouthwatering development. Matteo never knew a tiny piece of metal could be so wonderfully distracting. 

"No children's birthday parties to get to today?" Matteo finally blurts out. David's head whips up in shock with a surprised grunt. He turns to look at Matteo, blinking rapidly. Matteo just smirks in return.

"Oh, hi, Matteo," David mutters, confusing coloring his words. His face smooths out into a small smile. Matteo feels a thrill go down his spine at the fact that David remembers him at all, let alone that he remembers his name. 

"Hi Magic Man," Matteo shoots back, and it's dumb, but it makes David's small smile grow a little more. Matteo knows he's in danger of continuing to say dumb things just to see David smile. He can't seem to make himself worry too much about that fact. 

"You scared the crap outta me." David laughs, hand coming up to rub the back of his head. The motion seems a little sheepish and is a lot endearing considering the rest of David’s badass demeanor. 

"Sorry about that," Matteo says, not sorry at all. "I'll wear a bell next time. Hey, did you just get that done?"

David blinks at Matteo's pointed finger. He looks down at himself, and then back up at Matteo, and then it clicks. His hand goes up instinctively to touch his piercing. 

"Oh uh, no. No, I just take it out when we have shows to do. It doesn’t exactly scream ‘please trust me around your small children’ you know?" David answers easily, like they're old friends and not like people who have only had one other brief encounter together. 

"So you're not dazzling any small children with your magic tricks today?" Matteo asks, voice half teasing. He feels determined to hop right over the strangers line into at least acquaintances territory. He’s never known how to take things slowly, how to be chill when he sees someone he's liked. Jonas was the only exception, and Matteo did work to break him up with Hanna that one time, so that’s maybe not even really an exception at all. Yeah, definitely not chill. But David doesn't look thrown by the tone of voice so Matteo takes it as a win.

"Not today. Just heading home from my morning classes." David says, standing up as the bus pulls into view. 

When the bus comes to a full stop and opens its doors, David motions for Matteo to go on before him. Matteo gives a lopsided smile and bounds up the steps. The bus is relatively empty, most people already at work at this time. Matteo slides into an empty bench seat in the back, pushing himself flush with the window, just in case David wants to sit next to him for some reason. He watches, fingers tapping on his leg, as David scans his options. His deep brown eyes seem to hit every vacant spot before landing back on Matteo. 

Matteo focuses on keeping his face neutral as David approaches the back of the bus. His fingers still as the other boy claims his place next to Matteo. Breathing, he silently tells himself it's nothing. David is just being polite, sitting so close in order to continue the conversation Matteo started. Yeah, he thinks as David's knee softly bumps his own, just being polite. The two are silent as the bus starts up again.

“So um,” Matteo coughs, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Classes?”

“Yeah I go to film school, my second year. How about you?” David answers, following the thread of conversation without pause. Matteo scratches the side of his nose, tilts his head. 

“Well my gap year turned into two. School isn’t really my thing I don’t think. Film school sounds cool though.” Matteo used to feel embarrassed about his lack of upper education. A topic he’d skirt with a few well executed jokes and a self deprecating laugh. Now Matteo just accepts it as a fact about himself. He has blue eyes, can breath magic out through his lungs, and isn’t one for a traditional learning environment. 

“Yeah It’s pretty cool. I enjoy it at least.” David says with a shrug. “It’s nice to be around people who are passionate about filmmaking too, I guess.”

“Mmm...You’re actually one of those really pretentious artsy types aren't you? Like the super douchey ones that only want to talk about Kubrick. The magic tricks and being good with kids is just a cover.” Matteo snarks, and he kind of wishes it were true, because at this stage David is just too tempting. Almost otherworldly in his beauty and effortless charm. 

“Oh yeah totally, you’ve got me all figured out.” David shoots back and Matteo bites down a grin. 

The bus takes a sharper then normal turn and David’s whole left side presses into Matteo for a moment, shoulder to feet. The heat and pressure makes Matteo’s mouth run dry. But as quick as it’s there it’s gone again. David rights himself with a muttered apology, hands going up to grip the top of the seat in front of them. Matteo swallows thickly. 

“So what do you do then? If you’re not in school I mean.” David finally asks after a beat of silence. The question gives Matteo pause. He looks out the window at the passing buildings as he collects himself and his often used lie. 

“I uh, make things. And sell them.” Matteo says, voice slow and a little overly careful. You’d think after so much lying he’d be better than this. And it’s not even technically a lie at all. He doesn't know why he feels so panicked all of a sudden.

“Make things. Like on Etsy or something?” David sounds genuinely curious, not like he’s just asking to be polite. It makes Matteo even more nervous. His hands begin to sweat.

“Um yeah, kind of.” A half truth, there is a website that Hans made a while back despite all of Matteo’s protests. It’s even brought in a little business - much to Hans’ delight and Matteo's quiet chagrin. 

“What kinds of stuff do you sell?” David continues.

Before Matteo has to come up with a convincing enough answer the bus comes to a stop. Matteo hops up to his feet in a flash. David jumps a little, startled again. 

“It’s my stop!” Matteo annonces a little too loudly. David stands and shuffles out of the way so Matteo can pass. Matteo shoots him a tight smile before making his way off the bus. When he’s safely out of question asking territory he turns around and gives David a silly little wave goodbye. He watches David raise his hand back as the doors pull closed. Matteo stands there as the bus pulls away, letting out a long breath. That could have gone worse, he thinks. He turns on his heel and looks down the sidewalk. Could have gone worse, but he’s somehow roped himself into walking the rest of the way home, again. So acting awkwardly around cute boys is at least doing something good for his physical health, if not his mental one. Matteo shakes his head, exasperated with even himself, and begins walking home.

* * *

Amazingly, the chance encounters don’t stop there. It becomes a thing really. On the street, on the bus, one memorable encounter at a small coffee shop- David seems to be everywhere. It becomes so routine that Matteo starts to wonder if he accidentally chugged a luck potion at some point that is taking an extraordinarily long time to wear off. But no, ironically no magic seems to be involved in their meetings.

Sometimes they'll approach each other, share some words and smiles. Little things, snippets about how their days have been going. Questions and jokes and teasing. Other times they'll just nod and continue on, an acknowledgement of each other's existence the only thing they have time for. It’s nice, the quick growing familiarity of it all.

Matteo starts washing his face more. Taking better care of his hair. Spends more time picking out his outfits. Just on the off chance he'll run into David again. So yeah, it becomes a thing. A thing that Jonas eventually notices.

"Hey, you got your haircut." Jonas notes, hand going to rub at the shaved sides of Matteo's undercut. Matteo pulls a face and smacks Jonas' hand away. He turns and leaves his friend at the door, returning to his spot on the couch.

"It looks nice!" Jonas calls out with a chuckle. He clicks the door shut and ambles into the living room. Matteo throws a controller onto the cushions and picks one up for himself. It's time to destroy Jonas at Mario Kart to finally even the score. Complements will not sway him from this. Jonas laughs again when he sees the determined look on Matteo's face.

"Let me at least grab a beer first." He says, retreating into the kitchen with a shake of his head.

"Get me one too!" Matteo shouts, getting the game ready. 150cc and Luigi locked in.

"Of course! Who do you think I am?"

Jonas reemerges shortly with two beers in hand. He pops the tops on both, hands one off, and flops down next to Matteo. Their thighs press together, knees knocking. Jonas takes a long pull of the drink and then sighs. He breathes in deep, and then cocks his head to the side.

"Oh dude, you smell good." Jonas comments off handedly, setting his bottle down on the table and picking his controller up. 

"The fuck?" Matteo says, less of a question and more of an examination. He turns and looks at his friend like he's suddenly grown six heads. 

"What do you mean ‘the fuck’? You do." Jonas repeats. He navigates the character selection screen and then the stage select while Matteo stares. "New soap or something?"

Matteo presses his lips together hard. He might have been using Hans' expensive soap without his knowledge. He stays quiet, head snapping to the tv as the race begins. The conversation quickly devolves from there into playful jibes and shouts and some very colorful swearing. It's a close two out of three- Jonas taking the first round and Matteo the second. They pick rainbow road for the tiebreaker, the only possible course of action really. After being in second the entire race Matteo finally pulls ahead into first with a well timed red shell. When he crosses the finish line with Jonas seconds behind, he jumps up from the couch and cries out in victory.

"Fuck yeah! Take that! Fucking smoked you!" Matteo shouts, hands in the air. 

"Oi! Alright Luigi calm down. It was close and you know it." Jonas shoots back.

"Oh did you say something? Sorry I don't speak loser." Matteo says, hand cupping his ear mockingly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sit down you asshole." Jonas laughs, hooking a finger around one of Matteo's belt loops and pulling him back down on the couch. Matteo falls down by his side like a ragdoll, Jonas' arm going around his shoulder. 

"Hey are the pants new too? I like them, they actually fit." Jonas remarks, a complement cloaked in a tease. Matteo bristles. He elbows Jonas in the gut and pulls away, back resting on the arm of the couch.

"Oof," Jonas grunts, hand going to his stomach, bending slightly at the middle in pain. "What was that for?"

"Cause you're being weird." Matteo grumbles, arms crossed and shoulders hunched. 

"I'm being weird? You're being weird!" Jonas shoots back. His eyes narrow. "What is this about?" 

Matteo instantly deflates. Matteo used to be closeted about a lot of different things for a very long time. Being gay, his mental health, the fact that he can literally breath magic at will. It was a long and painful process just coming to terms with all of that himself. And after coming out in every way to Jonas, who was always so supportive, Matteo had promised himself to not keep any more secrets from his best friend. He sighs, eyes rolling up to the ceiling.

"Ok, so...it might be about a boy. Kind of, a little bit." Matteo mutters, ears going pink. Matteo doesn't talk about boys a lot with his friends, even now. And more often than not when the topic does come up it's not him who starts it. Sometimes Matteo still has to work to push down the waves of embarrassment that come when the topic is broached. He's getting better though, slowly. It helps that his group of friends are so overwhelmingly supportive. 

"Ey! Nice one Mr. Florenzi! Who is he?" Jonas asks, grinning wide.

"Just some boy that I run into, like, a lot. His name’s David and he's, well," Matteo sighs a little wistfully. He stares up at the ceiling, an image of David painting itself into his mind. "He's interesting and has an extremely dry sense of humor and is crazy handsome." 

"Sounds like a catch. You should ask him out, do you have his number?" Jonas says. Like it's just that simple. Matteo shakes his head. 

He had almost asked for David's number once, that day at the coffee shop. Matteo was sent on a coffee run by Hans, as a thank you for dealing with an extraordinarily unhappy customer. After loudly explaining to the man that yes, Matteo had specified to not mix the potion with alcohol for a reason, so no, it was not his fault that his hair had turned a violent shade of orange and was falling out in clumps; he shooed Matteo away for hot beverages and warm pastries. Matteo went with minimal complaint because he did kind of owe him quite a bit. 

Matteo entered the shop prepared to order Hans' crazy complicated coffee, only to be struck by the sight of a familiar boy hunched over a notepad at one of the small linoleum tables. It was then that he thought maybe all these chance meetings were more like fate or magic, and that he needed to take advantage of it. Matteo quickly ordered from the teenage barista and then, stealing himself, approached the table. He cleared his throat loudly, and when David looked up at him with those big brown eyes, immediately lost his nerve. 

They had ended up talking for a while that day, about everything and nothing. Matteo eventually got David to hand over his notebook so he could pour over his drawings. David laughed at Matteo's poorly worded compliments and Matteo grinned at the sound of David's laugh. But he didn't ask for David's number, his nerve never returning. He kicked himself for it the entire way home. And when Hans scolded him for the coffee that had long gone cold and the muffin that had been half eaten, Matteo could just shrug.

"No I haven't asked him for his number." Matteo says, sounding disappointed in himself even to his own ears. He pauses, and then sits up straighter. Matteo feels a little stupid when it finally hits him. "Oh wait. I guess...I guess I kind of do have his number."

"What does that mean?" Jonas wonders aloud, but Matteo is already rooting around in his pocket for his beat up wallet. 

"Well I kind of have his business card." Matteo mutters, pulling out the worn slip. His fingers ghost across the printed numbers and words. 

"Wait seriously? A business card? For what?" Jonas cranes his neck to get a better look at the card in Matteo's hand. 

"He...has a children's magic act...with his sister." Matteo trails off, knowing the reaction the news will elicit.

"You have got to be shitting me." Jonas says, completely deadpan. Matteo just shakes his head and tips the card closer for Jonas's inspection. His friend lets out a loud laugh. "Oh that's just fucking priceless."

"Yeah well. The thing is it's a brother sister thing so who knows if the number is David's or its his sisters?" Matteo says, ignoring Jonas's delight at the situation. Jonas tilts his head, looking serious again. 

"You can always call and if the sister picks up, just hang up?" Jonas answers. 

"But what would I even say if David did pick up? 'Hey yeah it's Matteo, that weird guy that you take the bus with sometimes. No, I'm not calling to book a magic show. Wanna go on a date?' As if." Matteo huffs, eyes rolling in exasperation. 

"Oh come on! Invite him to hang with the boys this Saturday! Have a couple of beers! It would be very chill, no pressure. And then you could ask him out after." 

Matteo pulls a horrified face at the suggestion. He doesn't want David anywhere near those idiots, not yet at least.

"Come on dude, do it, or I will." Jonas threatens, plucking the card from Matteo's hand. Logically Matteo knows he's just joking. That he would never actually do it against Matteo's wishes, and that Jonas just wants the best for him. Still, panic sprouts in his stomach.

"Fuck off," Matteo grunts, snatching the card back and jumping up from the couch. Jonas just laughs brightly when Matteo takes his phone out and starts typing in the numbers. Matteo flips his best friend off and retreats into the kitchen, unable to do this extremely embarrassing thing with an audience. 

Matteo leans against the kitchen counter. His breathing stills in his lungs, eyes squeezed shut as the phone rings. He bites his lip so hard that he's sure it's close to drawing blood. His whole body locks up when the other line connects.

"Hello, David Schreiber speaking."

Matteo lets out a rush of breath.

"Hi," Matteo croaks, and then clamps a shaky hand over his slack mouth.

"Matteo? Is that you?" David's confusion comes over the speaker. Matteo is bowled over by the fact that David recognizes his voice from one half choked word. He unclamps his hand and fish-mouths for a moment before getting his bearings back.

"Uh, yes?" Matteo says it like a question and cringes. That fact that David can't see him and his patheticness is a small blessing.

"Oh, hey. What's up? Are you looking to book a show or-" David starts, but Matteo quickly interrupts.

"No, um. No that's not. I'm sorry this is weird. Your sister gave this number to me to book a magic show not to- and I wasn't even sure which one of you was gonna answer, I mean, um...This is weird." Matteo is babbling, he's babbling and has to bite his lip to get himself to stop. He clenches his eyes shut and counts backward from 5 in his head.

"No it's not weird!" David reassures, and then chuckles warmly. "Well, maybe a little weird, but not in a bad way."

"Oh." Matteo says dumbly.

"Yeah. And well, my sister doesn't actually do much behind the scenes assistant work. Because she actually has a real job other than the magic stuff. So yeah, this is my number." David continues, voice equally as warm as his laugh. 

"Your job is real." Matteo mutters. And it is. It's more real than whatever the fuck Matteo does at least which must count for something.

"Oh." David says back. There's a beat of silence. "Thanks. So...what were you calling for then?"

Matteo's tongue feels heavy in his mouth. A bolt of fear immediately goes down his spine and his shoulders hunch a little. Because well, Matteo doesn't actually know if David likes guys. He feels sick all of a sudden. The fear that he's being predatory slowly sinks into his bones. Even though he knows Hans, and Jonas for that matter, would scold him for the thought. He can't ask David out like this, not on a date, he's too chicken shit.

"Um," Matteo starts, brain spinning. "Well I was wondering. My friends and I. We were...I was wondering if you'd maybe like to hang out with me and my friends this weekend. We're planning on meeting up for a few drinks."

"You and your friends?" David asks, words a little slow and drawn out. Matteo can feel himself sweating under his shirt collar.

"Yes."

"Well ok, sure. When?" David answers, and Matteo can feel all the tension leave his body at once. 

When Matteo finally re-enters the living room he's a little shaky on his feet, legs gone soft like jello. He aches for a joint. Jonas looks over at him from his place on the couch and Matteo gives a small smile. His friend grins proudly and gives a cheesy thumbs up in response.

* * *

"You guys have to be cool." Matteo repeats for maybe the twentieth time that night. He slides back into the cracked plastic booth, bowl of popcorn that he retrieved from the bar in hand. Extra salty per request, because Danielle is bartending tonight and she likes him the best. Jonas says it's because he's nonthreatening. Matteo likes to think it's because he's the only one funny enough to make her genuinely laugh. 

"Are you kidding me? I'm always cool. I'm the coolest person you know." Abdi says while shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth. 

"I don't know about that man. I mean, he knows me." Carlos counters just to get a rise out of him. Which works, of course. Abdi squawks indignantly, spewing wet popcorn crumbs everywhere. Matteo throws a look at Jonas. He knew this was a bad idea. 

"Relax dude, everything's gonna be fine." Jonas says before taking a long pull of his beer. Matteo just grunts and cranes his neck to keep an eye on the door. 

The conversation moves on without him, the words going over Matteo’s head completely. Which is fine, seeing as he’s not the most verbose of their group anyway. Instead of pretending to listen he keeps his eyes laser focused on the bar's entrance. Cold dread begins slowly dripping down his spine as the minutes tick by. Maybe David has changed his mind after all, too weirded out by Matteo’s forwardness. But before he can really work himself up too much the door swings open. And there he is, David. Matteo’s breath catches in his throat at the sight of him. He’s wearing a deep red button down and tight black jeans- more color and more form fitting than anything Matteo’s ever seen him in. The sight is mouthwatering. 

Breaking himself out of the momentary shock, Matteo raises his hand to give a tentative wave. He watches as David’s eyes scan the room, lighting up as they land on the booth near the back. The corners of his mouth quirk up into a soft smile and Matteo returns the action tentatively. David holds up a finger in the universal sign for ‘one minute’ before approaching the bar. 

“Oh hey is that him?” Abdi asks, excitement coloring his too-loud voice. 

“God could you try to be quiet please.” Matteo snaps. He watches David talk to Danielle. She laughs brightly as she hands him a beer. Ok, so maybe Matteo isn't the only one who can make her laugh. But he’s not surprised, David can be entirely too charming.

“Oh yeah, that's him.” Carlos answers, sounding smug for absolutely no reason. It’s not like Matteo was being subtle, Carlos piecing it together isn't at all a feat to be proud of.

“He’s handsome.” Jonas cuts in offhandedly. Matteo instantly wants to agree but keeps his mouth shut. His eyes flash down to the sticky tabletop as David approaches, not wanting to look like he’s been staring. They flash back up when he hears David’s voice. 

“Hey guys.” He shifts from foot to foot, standing over the group of them. Matteo tries to make himself speak. He knows he should. But his stupid mouth stays stubornly shut. 

“Hey man! I’m Jonas. Here, sit down.” Jonas comes to the rescue. He smooshes himself into the corner of the booth and tugs Matteo closer, leaving room for David. David smiles gratefully and takes his seat. It’s a tight fit, Matteo’s left side pressing in closely to David's right, just like that time on the bus. The contact warms Matteo all over.

“Um, hi David.” Matteo mumbles, finally getting his mouth to cooperate long enough to choke out a sentence. Even if the sentence is just two words. David is still smiling. It makes the warm feeling jump up a few degrees. 

“Hi Matteo,” He responds, voice as soft as his smile. Matteo can feel his pale cheeks flood with a blush. 

“Sup David, nice to meet you. I’m Carlos, this idiot here is Abdi.” 

David’s eyes jump up at the words, like he’s startled for a moment. His smile gets a little sharper. More of an attractive smirk than a smile. He lifts his beer and Carlos clinks his nearly empty one in greeting.

“Did you make it here alright?” Jonas asks kindly.

“Oh yeah. Sorry I'm a little late. I’ve never been here before so it took me a little while to find it.” David answers and Jonas nods in understanding.

“We come here all the time. Mostly for the free popcorn.” Carlos says, grabbing a kernel and throwing it into his open mouth. This time it’s David’s turn to nod. 

“So what were we talking about before I interrupted?” David wonders, taking a pull of his drink. Matteo opens his mouth to respond but closes it again. He doesn't actually know what they were discussing before David’s arrival. Abdi however immediately brightens, sitting up straighter in his seat. 

“This abandoned building. It’s totally haunted. I mean, I’ve never gone in, but I’ve heard things.” Abdi says, putting on a spooky inflection to his voice. Matteo groans. Now he’s happy he completely zoned out of the conversation before. It’s one they’ve been having since Abdi had first heard of the building a few weeks ago and frankly Matteo is sick of it. 

“It’s not haunted. There's no such thing as ghosts.” Matteo shoots back with a roll of his eyes. 

“Oh come on Matteo. You of all people are not allowed to be a skeptic.” Abdi laughs. 

Matteo throws him a venomous look. Carlos smacks Abdi on the back of the head. Abdi makes a wounded noise and shoves him back. David takes the scene in with slightly widening eyes.

“What’s that about? Why can’t Matteo be a skeptic?” David asks, turning towards Matteo slightly as he talks. Carlos and Abdi both still suddenly, and look to Matteo. Yeah, not suspicious at all. It’s honestly a miracle these idiots haven't spilled his secret to everyone they’ve ever met.

“It’s just a stupid inside joke.” Jonas says smoothly, bumping Matteo with his shoulder lightly. This is why he’s Matteo’s best friend. 

“Oh,” David says, accepting the answer easily. “We’ll, why don’t you check it out? The building I mean. That way you can know once and for all if it’s haunted or not.” 

“Because Abdi is a baby.” Matteo snorts. “I tried to get him to go with me so he’d finally shut up about it but he’s too scared.” 

"I'll go with you." David offers and Matteo blinks. "And I mean, we could report back to Abdi. To end the debate."

"Oh, uh, sure. Why not." Matteo breathes. The palms of his hands get a little sweaty around the glass of his beer bottle. He pretends the dampness is from condensation, and swallows hard.

"Cool," David answers with a grin, pink gums on display.

"Cool," Matteo repeats.

"Cool," Carlos says teasingly. Matteo swings out a foot to kick him in the shin and hits Abdi on accident, judging by his surprised yelp. 

"So, David, I hear you do magic tricks." Jonas cuts in, ignoring the squabbling like a trained professional.

So David explains his nontraditional job. He tells the story with a practiced nature that shows it’s one he’s told often, and a smile that shows he doesn’t at all mind. Stage magic was something he picked up in middle school. It had always just been a hobby. An interesting party trick to pull out on occasion. But when a friend of his sister’s begged him to entertain a group of seven year olds at her siblings birthday party a year back, things changed. Laura was the one to suggest turning it into a regular business venture, and seeing as David had been struggling for a while to find a part time job, he had thought why not? And the rest was history. 

The other boys are enwrapped through the entire story, laughing and asking ridiculous questions. And when Abdi begs David to show them a trick, he simply grins and apologizes for not bringing his cards along. David promises to remember them next time, and Matteo’s veins fizzle like someone replaced all his blood with soda. Next time, he thinks, biting back a smile. 

David asks what the rest of them do when story time comes to a close. They jump over each other to try and impress him. Carlos explains that he does carpentry for a small company. Jonas and David get into a heated discussion that goes over Matteo’s head when he mentions that he’s majoring in poli sci and volunteers at the local homeless shelter on weekends. Abdi pipes up that he works at a cinema and could  _ totally _ get David free movie tickets if he wanted. Matteo rolls his eyes in fond exasperation at it all. 

“Oh, hey, Matteo,” David says after taking a pull of his beer. Matteo turns towards David with raised eyebrows. “You never got to tell me what you sell.” 

Matteo’s glad his eyebrows are already raised, because they just might have jumped off his forehead at that statement.

“Oh, right. My uh, Etsy store.” Matteo begins, mind working overtime and mouth lagging way behind. All of a sudden he can’t recall a single one of his cleverly constructed lies. It’s not like he makes new friends very often. So he hasn’t needed to come up with a story in some time now.  _ Shit.  _ He needs to say something, fucking  _ anything.  _ Shit, shit, shit.

“He knits!” Abdi exclaims, far too loud for the small bar. Matteo cringes internally. 

“You sell your knitting?” David asks, sounding vaguely delighted at the concept. Matteo is sure he's about to be made fun of. All chances at scoring the boy gone. 

“Uh…” Matteo says dumbly. Because knitting, seriously? Matteo wants to strangle Abdi, the bastard.

“Luigi is just being modest. He’s a great knitter, has lots of loyal customers.” Jonas answers for him. He claps a hand on Matteo’s shoulder and gives him a little shake. Matteo nods weakly, resigned to his fate.

“That’s so awesome. Could I commission you for something? A beanie maybe?” David’s smiling his gummy smile again, Matteo blinks in surprise. 

“No I’ll, uh, I’ll make you one for free.” Matteo answers, because he truly is an idiot when it comes to pretty boys, and immediately wants to brain himself on the tabletop. He doesn’t know the first thing about knitting. He is so fucked. The only thing that stops him from doing anything rash is the sparkle in David’s brown eyes and the smile stretching across his lips. And yeah, ok, he just might be planning on learning to knit for real just so he can see that look on David's face again. It would be worth it.

“Thank’s Matteo, I’d love that.” 

The rest of the night goes without incident. David gets on with the other boys like a house on fire. They laugh and joke and drink and grin till their mouths hurt with it. Matteo feels warm all over, and he’s not sure if it's from the beer or from the company. When the group finally extract themselves from the booth, David has each one of their numbers programmed into his phone and vice versa. Matteo can safely say he's hopped right over the acquaintance line and straight into friendship. He counts the night as a win.

* * *

A week and a half later Matteo is texting David the address for the aforementioned abandoned building. Because that’s something they do now apparently- text.

It started with a message from David the morning after the boys night out, thanking Matteo for inviting him along. Matteo stared at the screen of his phone till it dimmed to total blackness before snapping himself out of the initial shock. It took him far too long and too many deleted drafts to come up with a simple ' _ any time!' _ . Matteo immediately regretted the exclamation point, afraid of coming off too eager, and sent a  _ 'sorry about my annoying friends' _ accompanied by an upside down smiley face to try and cover it up.

The texting had continued from there, and coupled with the still frequent chance run-ins, Matteo and David were communicating in one way or another nearly daily. But still, neither had made a real effort to set any concrete plans to hang out together again. Matteo had been two chicken shit, and truthfully, too busy with new clients to suggest anything himself. On top of that, he had assumed the offer to go and check out the building together had just been a spur of the moment thing. A thing they would both just forget.

David doesn’t forget.

_ 'Hey so I'm finally free of all responsibilities tomorrow if you want to check out that haunted house' _ , is the message Matteo receives at 2 in the afternoon while trying and failing to learn to knit via a youtube video.

_ 'Not haunted' _ , Matteo responds on reflex, and then  _ 'Yeah I'm down' _ .

After sending off the address and picking a time to meet up the following day, Matteo grins at the mess of yarn in his lap. Not even his sad attempt at craftsmanship can bring him down now. He picks the needles back up and stares at them for a minute before setting the tangled mess back down on the coffee table with a small huff. The home screen for Etsy loads up on Matteo’s phone and he quickly types a few key words into the search bar. He’s greeted by an array of handmade beanies, and only feels a little guilty as he adds one to his cart. His bank account is surely going to feel worse about it than he is because, Christ, is the hat expensive. The things he does for cute boys, honestly. 

The next day Matteo spends in a haze of anxiety, panic sweat making him cold and damp and uncomfortable. He doesn't know why the thought of being alone with David is putting him all out of sorts. Or well, he does, but he still finds it ridiculous. He's not in highschool anymore, he should be able to hang out with a guy he has a crush on without feeling like he might puke from the butterflies. At least in highschool he was high ninety percent of the time to take the edge off.

They're set to meet at the abandoned building at 8 o'clock. Matteo wishes it could be much earlier, but David insisted the snooping had to happen at night, to give them a better chance of a ghost encounter. So Matteo does get high. Just enough to uncoil the knot of anxiety in his gut. He takes a hot shower to wash away the sticky feeling, and decides to camp out on the couch till it's about time to head out, unable to even try and be productive today. He does a good job of annoying Hans throughout the day by his mere refusal to move, and trades Linn his discarded knitting supplies for a bowl of mac and cheese at dinner time. 

He finally heaves himself out of his indent in the couch cushions at 7:25. Matteo pulls on a sweater and a worn pair of gray sweatpants, unsure what the dress code is for ghost hunting but deciding warm and comfortable would be his best bet.

"I'm headed out!" Matteo calls as he reemerges from his room. He hasn't bothered to tell either of them, with who or to do what. Already knowing the barrage of questions from Hans and raised eyebrow from Linn would just kickstart his panic again. As far as they know it's just a regular night out with the boys. Matteo will tell them the truth tomorrow, maybe. 

"Good riddance!" Hans shouts back from somewhere in the apartment. Matteo chuckles and shakes his head as he leaves out the front door.

Outside the air is unseasonably crisp and cold and bracing. It helps clear his head as he makes his way to their previously set meeting place. Matteo is a few minutes early, but David is already there, leaning up against the chain link fence in the dark like some kind of unfairly attractive vampire or something. 

"Boo," Matteo says in lieu of a greeting as he approaches. Up close David looks even more unnaturally beautiful, face thrown in sharp contrast by the lamplight overhead. He grins, teeth glinting and eyes crinkling. 

"Boo you," David says back, and it's so dumb that Matteo has to laugh. It makes him feel warm and bright, even in the cold night air. 

"So," Matteo starts, drawing out the word. He squints up at the building. It looks imposing, looming over them in the dark, not that Matteo would ever admit that. "How do we even get in there." 

David just wiggles his eyebrows, which is  _ ridiculous _ and  _ should not be attractive _ , and turns towards the fence. Matteo watches, wide eyed and weirdly aroused, as David expertly scales the chain link. He drops himself over the other side and gives Matteo a challenging look. Given no other options Matteo scurries over the fence after him. He's much less graceful about it, but the end result is the same. David pulls out an honest to god flashlight, not one connected to his phone or anything, and motions for Matteo to follow him.

Instead of checking the front door, David leads Matteo around the building. He shines the light on the ground as they go. Grass and leaves crunching under their feet. David stops suddenly and Matteo almost walks right into him, catching himself at the last second. Matteo watches David bend and there, right at the base of the building, is a hole. Just big enough for somebody to fit through. 

"What? How did you- have you been here before?" Matteo asks, voice incredulous. 

"I did my research."

"You did research?" Matteo repeats, voice somehow growing even more incredulous. David laughs.

"I texted Abdi about it. He's so obsessed I knew he had to know something. And also google."

Before Matteo can think of anything to say to that, David is hopping down through the hole and into the basement. Matteo follows, because he knows ghosts don't exist and he's not at all afraid of an old building, no matter how spooky it looks at night. And maybe because he'd follow David just about anywhere. 

They go from room to room, shining the flashlight on old broken furniture. David tells Matteo to take his phone out and record audio because it's something ghost hunters do on tv. The two of them giggle and make stupid jokes and try to frighten each other, sure to make the recording unusable. But Matteo will keep it on his phone to listen back to it later, maybe more than once, just to hear David's laugh again when he's alone. 

They're making their way down a hallway, pushing each other and snickering and Matteo can't tell if this is flirting or not. Or well, he knows he's flirting, having regressed to schoolyard tactics just to have an excuse to touch. But he can't tell if it's the same for David. It's making him nervous again. Not a horribly bad kind of nervous, the kind that makes him sweaty and sick. No, this is the kind of nervous that makes his cheeks heat and butterflies to flap their way up into his throat. 

David reaches another door off the hall. It's one of the last rooms they have left to explore. He twists the knob but it stays stubbornly closed. He tries again, the metal jingling as he tugs.

"Damn," David huffs. "Locked."

David shrugs and begins to make his way down the hall again, but Matteo hesitates. They’ve almost scowarded the whole building, which means it’s almost time to go. He doesn’t want his time with David cut even a little bit short just because of a pesky lock. Plus, now he’s curious in his own right. Matteo brings his hands up to his mouth, closing his eyes for concentration. He blows, like he’s trying to warm them up with his breath. The skin tingles and grows tight around his bones.

Matteo is being reckless, he knows that. If the other boy turns around, shines his flashlight in Matteo’s direction, his hands will light up like a golden disco ball. There isn’t really a believable enough lie to cover that up. Thankfully, David keeps his back turned, crouching to pick up a twisted piece of metal off the ground. Matteo steps closer to the door. He breathes in through his nose,  _ one two three _ , smoothing the flat of his left palm against the space where the door meets the door jam. Holding the air in his lungs, he grips the door knob with the other hand. The breath rushes out of him,  _ four five six _ , and then Matteo turns his wrist. The lock clicks and the door swings open easily. 

The headrush is instantaneous. Matteo grips the door hard to keep himself upright, shaking his head to try and clear the feeling. David stands and turns, brow furrowed. His brown eyes move from Matteo to the now open door and back again. Matteo just smiles, hoping the facial expression isn’t as wobbly as the rest of him feels. 

“Huh,” Is all David says. He steps closer and shines the flashlight through the newly opened door. Seemingly it’s a pretty big room, bigger than any other they’ve been in tonight. The light doesn’t even make it to the opposite wall, going too milky and faint to make out the full scope. David drops the light down a little, and there, right in the middle of the room, is a full sized inground swimming pool- sans water.

Both boys turn, grinning maniacally at each other in the dark, before moving at the same time. They push at each other playfully, trying to get into the room, and then the pool, first. David wins immediately, taking a running jump straight down into the shallow end. His feet meet the bottom with a sharp smack that reverberates off the walls. Matteo snorts at the triumphant face David makes. A little more cautious, Matteo sits down, legs dangling into the empty pool. He pushes off with his hands, more or less sliding in, back bumping against the tiles as he falls. His feet make a much quieter noise when he lands.

"Maybe somebody drowned." David says, stepping forward, making his way toward the deep end. 

"What?" Matteo asks. His hand goes up to grab one of the lane dividers, using it to keep his still shaky legs steady. 

"The ghosts," David clarifies. "Maybe someone drowned."

"We haven't even seen any ghosts." Matteo retorts with an eye roll, even though it'll go unseen in the dark. 

"Yeah. It's a bummer. I really wanted to see a ghost." David says, sounding genuine, and Matteo laughs.

"Like somebody possibly drowning isn't a bummer?" Matteo's head is clearing finally, legs feeling less like jello. He follows David into the deep end. 

"Ok, fair point." David concedes. He makes it to the other end of the pool and sits down, leaning against the wall. Matteo joins him, bum instantly going cold from the tile. Their shoulders bump and Matteo stays where he is, temperature be damned.

"Did you really think we were gonna find anything anyway? Like, do you actually believe in ghosts and stuff?" Matteo asks, his quiet voice sounding loud in the vast space of the pool. 

"No not really. Sometimes it's hard to not  _ want _ to believe in something bigger though, you know?" David answers. He turns the flashlight over and over in his hands. Matteo hums his understanding. 

"Like fate." Matteo says.

"Fate?"

"Yeah, it's a nice idea. Something I sometimes want to believe in. Everything happening for a reason." It makes everything crazy about Matteo's life seem more manageable. Because maybe fate is already managing it for him. 

"No, no I don't think I like that one. Feels too much like giving up freewill. Would rather make my own decisions." David says. Matteo turns his head to look at David, the side of his face cloaked in shadow. He wishes he could make out the expression there, wants to take the light and inspect every bit of this beautiful and fascinating boy. 

"Oh yeah? What kind of decisions?" Matteo wonders out loud. He knows it's a weird question, half expects David to ignore him. Doesn’t know what kind of answer he’ll get if David doesn’t ignore him, but is curious anyway.

But then David turns, facing Matteo head on. The flashlight moves, illuminating his soft expression for half a second. Slowly, achingly slowly, David's hand raises up, cupping Matteo's face. His thumb rubs over the apple of Matteo's cheek, calloused but tender. Matteo let's out a breath.  _ Oh _ , he thinks, mind going fuzzy and warm,  _ oh _ . And then he can't think about anything at all, because David's lips are on his. 

At first it's just a press and slide of warm dry lips. A beautiful pressure. David's hand gently guiding Matteo's face where he wants him. Matteo sighs, melting into the kiss, eyes fluttering closed. His hand comes up to grip David's wrist, keeping him there. And then there's tongue. Matteo's skin tingles in the most delicious way, gut clenching. He never wants to stop kissing this boy. Wishes he could sprout gills so he didn't have to come up for air. But they do have to come up for air. The two separate after an age, panting into each other's mouths.

"Oh," Matteo mumbles, star struck. David laughs before ducking in for another kiss.

* * *

Kissing David quickly becomes one of Matteo’s favorite pastimes. He gets quite good at it too, what with all the practice he’s getting. They do it lazily, laying in David’s bed, tongues and lips and teeth and weed smoke. They do it in public, chaste kisses pressed into the corners of smiling mouths. They do it all over, and not just on lips. Matteo learns to love dropping kisses onto David’s hands and fingers and cheeks and into his clean smelling hair. He learns to love getting them back, on the tip of his nose and the middle of his brow bone and on his stomach just before a raspberry is blown into the flesh and met with peels of laughter. They do it so much and Matteo is sure he will never tire of it.

They do other things too. They watch movies and play video games and order take out and hang out with the boys and talk. They do a whole lot of talking. More than Matteo has maybe done in his whole life. About stupid things and important things, and every single thing Matteo learns about David is a beautiful revelation. 

But they don’t talk about one thing. It’s two weeks after their first kiss in the pool and Matteo has yet to come clean about some pretty crucial information. The magic. Matteo also gets pretty good at ignoring that fact. Two weeks isn’t a very long time, he reasons with himself, and this is a pretty big secret. It’s not one you just blurt out to someone, no matter if that someone is your boyfriend. It's harder to ignore when he’s actively lying about it. Like when the handmade beanie finally comes in the mail. When Matteo gives it to David, he grins his wide toothy grin and compliments Matteo on his craftsmanship. Matteo gives David a weak smile back, mouth tasting sour and stomach tying itself into knots. It’s a familiar feeling, lying to people he cares about, but not one that he at all missed. 

Matteo resolves himself to tell David the truth, and soon. 

That might be a stupid thing too do. Entrusting this boy he’s only really known for a handful of weeks with his biggest secret. But David feels like an always thing, like fate, like inevitability. And the more time they spend together the stronger that feeling grows. So he resolves himself to do it. Following through is another thing entirely. 

They're laying on Matteo's bed now. An album by some woman named Mitski that David wanted to show Matteo is playing out of the speakers of his laptop. Matteo knows he's been too quiet all day, focusing too hard on  _ not _ thinking about the secret he's keeping. David doesn't press him to talk, and Matteo is beyond grateful. 

The song quiets, and ends, and another one doesn’t start up to take its place. After a minute Matteo assumes the album has come to a close. It was nice, Matteo had liked it, wants to tell David as much. But the words don’t come. Which is fine. Matteo will tell him later, when speech has returned to him. He’ll tell him other things then too, important things, he promises himself silently. There's a stretch of silence only broken up by the sound of quiet breathing. Matteo thinks he could fall asleep like this, head pillowed on David’s chest, all warm and curled up and safe. He almost does in fact, eyes going heavy. 

But David taps Matteo on the shoulder, and begins to sit up. Matteo shifts his body back onto the bed, assuming David is just getting up to put on some more music, or go to the bathroom or something. He doesn’t. He sits, turns towards Matteo, and he frowns.

“What’s up?” Matteo croaks, forcing the words out. He squints up at David, watches as his face goes drawn and tight. 

“I have to talk to you about something important.” David says. 

Fear instantly shoots up Matteo’s spine. It’s a silly reaction, the panic that David somehow figured out Matteo’s secret before he could confess it himself. But it’s his reaction all the same. He sits up quickly, blood rushing to his head and palms going damp with sweat. 

“Yeah?” Matteo breathes, mouth dry all of a sudden. 

"Yeah it's- Ha...yeah this uh, this never gets easier I guess." David laughs humorously. Matteo's eyebrows pinch together, nerves leaving him and being replaced with a blanket of concern. 

"Take your time." Matteo says, even though he's burning with curiosity. It's something his therapist says to him alot, and he's always grateful to her for it. David takes a minute to collect himself. He breathes, rubbing his hands over his thighs, eyes downcast.

"I wanted to tell you earlier. Or well. Maybe I didn't. Because people sometimes react badly and I didn't know you too well before. But I do now. So now I want you to know. Um." David sighs deeply. Matteo's face is sure to be a picture of pure confusion. He's not known for having the best poker face. But he doesn't push, he just sits, and listens. 

"So I don't know if you know what being trans...means…" David starts, and then stops. His whole body is a tense line, coiled so tight Matteo is afraid he's about to spring away. 

"Yeah I know what it means." Matteo answers quietly, as not to spook David. Hans has given Matteo many speeches on the ABC's of the LGBT community. And while Linn isn't as vocal about her personal experience as Hans is, he does know that she identifies as nonbinary. So while Matteo doesn't know all the specifics, he does know what being trans means in the general sense. 

"Oh, right, so." David finally looks back up at Matteo. He must see something there in Matteo's face because some of the tension leaves his body slowly, like air being released from a balloon. "So yeah that's...me. I'm transgender, I'm a trans man."

The room is quiet again. Matteo nods once. He reaches out and places his hand over David's balled up fist. 

"Cool." Matteo says with a small smile. The wrinkles between David's eyebrows smoothes out, eyes going wide and round in shock. His fist unclenches, hand automatically going to tangle with Matteo's.

"Cool?" He asks, voice incredulous. 

"Yeah, I mean. Thanks for telling me. For trusting me with that. That's cool." Matteo answers with a little shrug. "You wanna put on some more music and cuddle again?"

"Really?" David asks, looking a cross between baffled and happy. 

"Really. Unless you wanted to talk about it some more?" Matteo asks. He can feel the ability of speech leaving him again. But he'll tough it out if that's what David wants, what he needs right now. 

"No, yeah that's. That's cool." David says softly. He sits there a moment, just looking at Matteo with an unreadable expression on his face. Slowly he leans forward, and presses a warm kiss into Matteo's chapped mouth. Matteo hums into the kiss. He's sure they'll talk about it more some other time, but for right now this is good, perfect even. The kiss breaks. David gets up, puts on another album, and climbs back into bed.

So maybe David coming out pushes Matteo to actively work on telling him about the magic. Not that the two are the same thing. But David must feel it too, the inevitability, if he chose to trust Matteo with one of his biggest secrets. Matteo feels he owes David the same level of trust, if they're going to give this thing of theirs a go. And he really, really wants to give this thing of theirs a go. 

He calls Jonas the next day for some advice. It doesn't go particularly well.

Matteo stands over his mortar and pestle, pot of water heating on the stove, and phone pressed between his shoulder and cheek. The rhythmic motion of grinding up herbs and flower petals helps to keep him calm as he speaks into the receiver. 

"Are you even listening to me?" Matteo grumbles to his friend, already fed up.

"I'm listening, I just don't see the problem." Jonas answers. Matteo wishes he was here so he could chuck the pestle at him.

"You don't see the problem." Matteo parrots, voice going slightly mocking. Jonas just laughs at the sound.

"You said you want to tell David, so tell David." Jonas says brightly. Matteo scowls.

"Oh like it's that simple." Matteo turns to the pot with his mortar, dumping the crushed plants into the bubbling water. He bangs the spoon into the mixture with more force than strictly necessary, sighing through his nose in frustration. He counts the stirs on his head, trying to keep his temper in check. But he's been on the phone with Jonas for the past twenty minutes and nothing the other boy has said so far has been very helpful.

"It can be, I mean look at how you told me." Jonas says. Matteo huffs another sharp breath, tossing the wet spoon into the sink. 

"That's different. You half figured it out on your own anyway, before I ever told you anything." Coming out to Jonas about the magic that first time had been more anticlimactic than anything. Matteo can't imagine anyone else will ever react as chill about it as he did. In fact no one ever has. Carlos and Abdi sure didn't, the absolute spazzes.

"Yeah well I guess knowing you for so long gave me a leg up. But still, it won't be that different. You tell him, maybe he freaks out for a minute, and then it's fine." 

"'Maybe he freaks out for a minute'. Wow. You're really inspiring confidence here." Annoyed, Matteo hits the end call button before Jonas can respond, thoroughly done with the whole conversation. He bends over the pot, blowing out golden magic into the steaming concoction. He glares at it as it does it's work, changing a bunch of wet herbs into something much more. He feels vaguely betrayed when his own magic doesn't simply offer him up an answer. It's at fault for getting Matteo into this whole mess anyway. He glares harder. 

Matteo's phone chimes, and when he checks it, a text from Jonas is waiting. ' _ You got this Luigi _ ' it reads, followed by a string of thumbs up emojis and exclamation marks. Matteo is doubtful.

He contemplates going and asking Riener for advice next, but immediately changes his mind with a shake of his head. Matteo would bet Riener has never told anyone his secret that he wasn't one hundred percent sure was also magically gifted. He thinks about his therapist, about bringing it up during their next session. But with how vague Matteo would have to be about the whole situation, he's not sure asking her would help much either. 

"Fuck it." Matteo mumbles to himself, clicking the stovetop off. 

So that's how Matteo finds himself the next afternoon, without any concrete plan of attack, inviting David into the flat. Matteo leads them to the living room, because he did lure David over with promises of Netflix and cuddles and snacks. The snack choices are probably underwhelming, a half eaten bag of potato chips and a sleeve of oreo cookies sit on the coffee table. But that's fine, this whole thing was a poorly conceived cover anyway. 

Matteo sits down on the couch and pulls up the Netflix app on the tv, immediately beginning to scroll mindlessly. His brain is already a mess of staticky panic. This was probably a bad idea.

"How've you been babe, alright?" David asks, like he wasn't just hanging out with Matteo two days previously and texting with him even after that. It's sweet though, David is sweet. And the endearment would make Matteo blush if he wasn’t so out of sorts

"I'm alright. It's just…" Matteo starts, body half turning towards David. He wants to just say it, vomit up all his unbelievable secrets. Get it all over with, even if it does end with David freaking out. Instead, what comes out of his stupid fucking mouth is, "Can you show me a magic trick?"

David looks bewildered for a second, eyebrow cocked. But he grins, and snorts, and begins riffling around in his jacket pocket. He pulls out a pack of playing cards, Matteo thinks they might even be the same set he saw David with that first time they met. 

"I forgot to take these outta my pocket after yesterday's show, so you're in luck." He explains. Matteo nods weakly in acknowledgement.

David starts the trick like any other, asking Matteo to pick a card. Two seconds later Matteo doesn't even remember what card he picked. He just watches David's hands move with practiced precision, mind entirely blank besides the buzzing of fear. When David finishes the trick and produces a card Matteo assumes it's the right one. Instead of compliments, what falls from Matteo's lips is the words that have been running on a loop in his brain since David stepped through the door today. 

"I can do magic." Matteo blurts, and then freezes in mute horror. David just laughs.

"Oh yeah? Trying to snatch my job out right from under me huh? Here, give it a go then." David chuckles, holding out the deck of cards. Matteo sits there, staring at the outstretched hand for far too long. It's like an error code is preventing Matteo from even attempting to appear normal right now. David's hand slowly lowers, smile changing to a confused frown. 

"Matteo? Are you sure you're ok? Did I do something wrong?" David asks, and for some reason that springs Matteo into action. 

"No!" Matteo shouts, shooting up from the couch. David's eyes widen, mouth opening on another question, but Matteo continues on. "No I- just. Just wait there one second."

He goes to the windowsill, and retrieves one of Linn's potted plants. It's a new one, still small, no more than a single shoot nestled in soil. Matteo brings it back to the couch and sits down. David's eyebrows are crawling up towards his hairline but he sits and waits patiently. 

Matteo takes a deep breath in and holds it, because there's no going back from this. He holds it until it burns and then, with his eyes on David, breathes out. 

Golden flakes settle over the potting soil before sinking down, like quicksand swallowing it up. Matteo watches David's mouth curve into a little surprised 'o'. His beautiful brown eyes don't blink as the plant begins to grow, like if he stopped looking for even a moment the process would halt. The small stalk branches out, buds appearing and opening within seconds, soft purple flowers taking their place. And then there, in Matteo's hands, is a fully bloomed African violet, just like that. 

The pile of cards fall out of David's slack grip, a number of them tumbling off of the couch and onto the floor, the fluttering of them the only sound in the room. Matteo's entire body feels as heavy as lead. He's not sure if it's from the aftereffects of using magic or the settling panic or both. 

"You can do magic." David says, voice lacking any inflection. He finally blinks, and looks up at Matteo. And then he repeated, just as blankly. "You can do magic."

"Matteo!" Comes a sharp voice to his left. Both boys jump and turn their heads sharply at the sound. There Linn stands, frowning slightly. "Why did you do that? I wanted them to have a chance to grow on their own."

Linn approaches when neither Matteo or David speaks up. She plucks the potted plant from Matteo's grasp and turns it this way and that, inspecting it. She tutts, muttering quietly about 'stupid boys rushing her poor sweet houseplants', and leaves the room. The pair stay completely still until the soft click of her bedroom door breaks the spell. They turn to each other, before breaking out into quiet giggles. The tension is finally broken. 

"My boyfriend can do magic. This is crazy. This is absolutely crazy." David whispers when the laughter finally subsides, voice full of wonder and awe. Matteo smiles fondly, because god, that word.  _ Boyfriend _ , it's beautiful. 

"Well," Matteo says, grinning around the words. "My boyfriend can do magic too."

David laughs again, the sound bright and wonderful. He leans forward, cradling Matteo's face in his warm hands, and kisses him soundly. And Matteo is so insanely glad he doesn't have to give that pastime up. The kiss breaks in another peal of breathless giggles. Matteo's cheeks are pink with joy and relief.

“I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe you're real. I have so many questions.” David says, shaking his head, bewildered.

"Oh but um," Matteo starts, right hand going up to keep David's where it is. He tilts his face into it, nuzzling. "I have another confession."

"Another?" David asks, and his cheeks are pink too. Rosey and soft and beautiful. 

"I didn't knit that beanie. I bought it online. I lied, I can't knit at all." Matteo says, voice grave, like that's the biggest secret he's shared today. David throws his head back and laughs. And Matteo thinks that sight, David happy and bright and open, is the most magical thing he has ever seen in his entire life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Comments and Kudos are much appreciated <3


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